The White House has introduced a comprehensive policy to address the potential risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI) use across federal agencies.
What Happened: The new policy, released on Thursday, mandates federal agencies to appoint a chief AI officer, disclose their AI usage, and implement protective measures.
The policy is an extension of President Joe Biden’s AI executive order issued in October. The order aims to ensure that AI is adopted and advanced in a manner that safeguards the public from potential harm while allowing everyone to benefit from its full potential.
Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized the importance of the new memo and requirements in promoting the safe, secure, and responsible use of AI by the federal government.
"I believe that all leaders from governments, civil society and the private sector have a moral, ethical and societal duty to make sure that artificial intelligence is adopted and advanced in a way that protects the public from potential harm," Vice President Harris said.
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Agencies have been given a 60-day deadline to appoint a chief AI officer, who will oversee AI usage within their respective agencies. The memo does not specify if the position will be a political appointee, leaving it to the discretion of individual agencies.
Agencies are also required to create “AI use case inventories” listing their AI uses annually and to identify cases that may impact safety and rights.
However, certain AI use cases, such as those used by the Department of Defense, are not required to be part of the inventory if sharing the information would be inconsistent with applicable law and government-wide policy.
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The policy would also require travelers to have the option to opt out of Transport Security Administration's (TSA) facial recognition at airports without delay.
Why It Matters: In November, Vice President Harris announced the establishment of the United States AI Safety Institute, which was tasked with developing guidelines and best practices for examining potentially harmful AI systems.
This move came shortly after President Biden’s AI executive order, which was signed following a meeting on Capitol Hill where industry leaders, including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, called for government intervention in the field of AI.
Earlier this year, the Biden administration also enlisted the help of major tech companies to tackle the dangers of AI through the creation of the U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC.)
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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